Kitchen & Bath Design News is the industry's leading business, design and product resource for the kitchen and bath trade.
Issue link: http://kitchenbathdesign.epubxp.com/i/391330
Publisher Paul DeGrandis Publisher Emeritus Eliot Sefrin Editor Janice Anne Costa Managing Editor Anita Shaw Group Editorial Director Patrick O'Toole Contributing Writers Jamie Gold, CKD, CAPS Elizabeth Richards Denise Vermeulen Columnists Ellen Cheever, CMKBD, ASID, CAPS Hank Darlington Leslie Hart Bruce Kelleran, CKD, CPA Stephen Nicholls Ken Peterson, CKD Mary Jo Peterson, CKD, CBD, CAPS Sarah Reep, CMKBD, ASID, CMG, CAPS, IIDA Bryan Reiss, CMKBD Eric Schimelpfenig, AKBD Art Director John Sidor Media Production Rep Connie Wolf Editor, ForResidentialPros.com Andrea Girolamo Web Site Manager Thamaraj Udomwongyont Audience Development Manager Ellen Stormer Reader Service Manager Jeff Heine Administrative Assistant Marie Snow Sola Group Inc. Copyright © 2014 by Sola Group Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be produced in any form, including electronically, without written permission from the publisher of Kitchen & Bath Design News . ® October 2014 ForResidentialPros.com | 5 Facebook.com/KitchenBathDesignNews @KitchenBathDesignNews Editorial { Janice Costa, editor } I 'm cleaning the kitchen at 11 o'clock on a Sunday night, contemplating such mysteries of the universe as: Where did all of this clutter come from? How come, with all of this technology, they can't make a kitchen that cleans itself? And, why don't I have buckets of money so I can have the kitchen of my dreams, and then hire some- one to keep it Better Homes & Gardens neat? Someone out there is making those buckets of money, I'm sure, but it's not me. And according to KBDN's newest salary survey, it's not the majority of kitchen and bath designers, either. That holds especially true for fe- male design professionals, who still represent 71+% of the lowest salary ranges, and only a third of those making $150,000+ (see related Sal- ary Survey, Page 32). The survey, which showed designers seeing modest gains over 2012 but still de- pressingly low salaries in many cases – along with a dramatic gender gap – begs a couple of questions. One, are we, as an industry, being paid what we're worth? What can/ should we be doing diferently as business people to increase our income? And, for women in the feld, what are we doing to address the gender gap for ourselves and the women who come after us? Designing a kitchen or bath requires a tremendous level of skill. You need to have the style sense of a trend setting fashionista, the at- tention to detail of a top-level accountant, the people skills of a SWAT Team hostage ne- gotiator, and the ability to see something that doesn't even exist…and then sell that vi- sion to someone else who can't envision it, convincing them to spend tens of thou- sands of dollars tearing up their home to bring a dream to life. And that's just the begin- ning. A good design must address the functional needs of the client (or people who share the space); it must work not just in the moment, but function well over time for the way the clients and their family grow and age; it must conform to space constraints, budget constraints and some- times the owner's physical constraints. It must include the elements that resonate on a very personal level with the homeowner, so that the space will provide not just function- ality, but also comfort and a sense of home. It must work not only as a cooking space, but as an entertaining space, a technology center and an all-purpose room that can accommodate homework, crafts, household manage- ment, family celebrations and more. And it must do all of this while looking beautiful, stylish and up to date. For most designers, this is the part of the job they love best. In fact, when we asked designers this month how they challenge themselves to be better (see related story, Page 6), almost all of them talked about creative design ideas and relationships with people. And, indeed, these are things that help good design- ers become great. Yet none of the respon- dents talked much about challenging themselves to enhance their business man- agement, sales, marketing or fnancial skills. Of course there's nothing wrong with having a pas- sion for the creative part of the job. But without strong financial, business, sales and marketing skills, most creative folks never gain the level of professional success they desire. It's long been a weakness in our indus- try, and according to Ken Peterson (see related col- umn, Page 22), it's one of the key factors that keeps kitchen and bath professionals from attaining the kind of income they could – and that, indeed, their talents merit. Design professionals would do well to spend some time contemplating the complexities of what they ofer their clients, and then figuring out how to raise their profile and sell their strengths, while also shor- ing up their business skills to make sure they're not giv- ing away profts due to lack of planning, poor fnancial man- agement or simply neglecting the business end of things. The gender gap, on the other hand, is more compli- cated. After decades of study, there still seem to be no solid answers as to why women consistently make less money than men in the same feld, with the same level of experi- ence, doing the same jobs. Is the problem a glass ceiling, or a "boys' club" mentality? Is it a cultural norm that encour- ages women to value "getting along" rather than negotiat- ing for more? Is it a lack of confdence – in our skills, our worth, or our ability to ask for, or demand, even, what we're worth? Is it the decades-old problem of women eschewing math skills and "hard" busi - ness skills compared to their male peers, something that's evident as early as junior high school? Is it a function of women as a group being more likely to take time of or out to raise children, care for aging parents, etc.? Is it some combination of these, or something else entirely? There are no easy an- swers, but we should always be asking the questions – and working toward addressing our own business weak- nesses, while educating our clients, our frms, society, and the women coming up in the business so that the gender gap can eventually be closed for good. Are You Earning What You're Worth? With industry salaries still struggling and the gender gap remaining prevalent, designers need to assess what they must change to earn their true worth. "Without strong fnancial, business, sales and marketing skills, most designers never gain the level of professional success they desire."